Page:History of Goodhue County, Minnesota.djvu/368

 301 HISTORY OF GOODHUE COUNTY Saint Paul. — None up Monday. None down Saturday. Eastern. — Xone up Tuesday. None down Saturday. "Way Mails. — Xone up Tuesday. Xone down Friday. N. B. — The Eastern mail closes at 4:00 p. m. E. P. Lowater, Postmaster. W. W. DeKay was appointed postmaster to succeed Mr. Lowater, but for some reason the appointment was-not confirmed and Captain A. "Wright was then named, taking charge of the office in May, 1867, after seven months' service by Mr. DeKay. The same year the office -was removed to a building on Rush street, between Main and Third. Captain "Wright served as postmaster four years. He was succeeded in 1871 by C. C. Webster. Early in his administration the Red Wing post-office became an international money order office. But the greal evenl of his term was the establishment of mail service by rail on the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul rail- way, then just completed through Red Wing. On October 13, 1871, the Red Wing post-office received its first mail by train, and the days of the steamboal ;md stage coach supply which had done service for more than twenty years were at an end. At the start there was one mail a day each way. A train lefl St. Paul at 9:20 a. m._, arriving a1 Red Wing at noon and reaching Winona, the end of the run. al 4 o'clock. Another train left Winona at 10:10 a. m.. arriving at Red Wing at 2:10 and at St. Paul at 4:55. The trip between lied Wing and Si. Paul consumed almost three hours, where now it is performed in little more than one hour. Captain Wright, whom Mr. Webster succeeded as postmaster was one of the first two railway mail clerks. In June, 1872. through service to Chicago was established with two trains a day each way. which service has been increased to six at the present time. The run from Chicago to St. Paul consumed about twenty-two hours. Xow it is made in little more than half that time — in fact, in ten hours by some of the mail trains. In 1875 A. F. Graves became postmaster. Shortly after he took charge the post-office was removed to the corner of Third and Bush streets, the present location of Bender's drug store, where it remained more than twenty years. During the adminis- tration of Mr. Graves the office records show the first statement of receipts of the Red W 7 ing post-office. For the year ending June 30, 1878, they amounted to $7,480.99. As showing the later growth of the office no little interest attaches to a statement of mails found in the old records. A count kept for seven days in Xovember, 1879, showed the dispatch of the following mail from the office :